The Day IS Here: Beaujolais Nouveau Est Arrive'!!

I love this day. But after several years of my hyperbole on the matter, you should know what I'm excited about. And from everything I've been reading so far, this year's edition of Nouveau should be epic.

The folks at Sherry-Lehmann, NYC's preeminent purveyor of the Georges Debeouf version of Nouveau have posted this review from Debeouf himself:

“The 2015 vintage is going to be one of the all-time greats. The colour is a beautiful red with tones of purple and deep garnet. As for the nose, it offers a magnificent array of forest fruits: blackcurrant, blackberry and blueberry. On the palate, these are round, savoury, rich, full-bodied, unctuous and silky wines. Even better, they offer a truly exceptional persistence in the mouth. What a wealth of delightful flavours! The quality of this vintage is unprecedented. We are exploring heights which we’ve never seen before. You know that every vintage has its own history, and we know that 2015 will be breath-taking. What pleasure awaits the drinker!” -Georges Duboeuf"


So, as you might expect, I am very excited to try some. I will report back as soon as I do.  I'd also be interested in hearing YOUR take on the wine this year, and how many different bottlers you've been able to find.

A votre sante'!

Le Beaujolais Nouveau.....

......est arrive!  One of my favorite days of the year, simply for the sheer fun of it, when this sprightly wine is released just in time for Thanksgiving (and Hannukah too!), and just in time for some leisurely quaffing.

And again, the reason I am so fond of this wine is that is allows the drinker, I think, to taste the entire cycle of wine making: the earth, the vine, the leaf, the grape, the juice and all the flowers and berries and fruit from nearby fields. It is quite an exciting whirlwind of smells and tastes in just a few sips.

And the wine flat out goes with anything you might eat, from cheeses to veggies and fruit, fish, fowl and meats, pastas,  even dessert.  Versatility is the key word here.  This year's  vintage explodes with strawberry and raspberry and even some apple in the nose, and smacks your mouth with black cherry and raspberry, more of that apple taste, more than in previous years, and even a little citrus, while still holding onto the earthy, slightly vegetal tastes that remind you of the vineyards from where the grape (Gamay) came. Swirl your first sips of this year's Nouveau  and you will feel it all, a remarkable experience, actually.

The Nouveau will really show its stuff with holiday dinners, though,  because it is able to straddle all of the diverse flavors of a holiday meal, from Hannukah latkes to cranberry relish, herbal stuffing, butttery potatoes candied yams and roast turkey, even (gasp) green bean casserole.  I happen to think it goes pretty well with pecan pie, too, if that is part of your holiday dessert selections. It will also hold its own with pumpkin and sweet potato pie and chocolate desserts.

So, kick back and enjoy this year's  Nouveau. It's shockingly inexpensive ($8.09 at my local Joe Canal's store in Lawrenceville) and fun to drink!

Cheers!

THE SESSION WINE PROJECT?

A few weeks back, Eric Asimov, wine columnist for the NY Times, penned a fascinating article that struck a familiar chord. He discussed a growing trend among California vintners that steers away from the "round, ripe, extravagant" pinot noirs and toward lighter, more finessed pinots. Many of the vintners Asimov interviewed sensed a frustration with any style of wine that might not always be food friendly, or casually drinkable. A movement (Asimov calls it a rebellion!) away from total devotion to big wines and toward more readily, easily quaffable ones? He never uses the term "session wine", but he might as well have. he liked the word "finesse".

Sound familiar? To many fellow beer geeks it does, and Lew Bryson has been leading the discussion for a while now on his The Session Beer Project blog. It's nice to see the wine world playing catch up.